The Canterbury tales and Faerie queene &c., &c., &c., ed. for popular perusal with current illustrations and explanatory notes, by D. Laing Purves.

CANTO VIt.] T7r FAEIRd QtUEEA. 339
Then gan the Dwarf the whole discourse declare:Both glorious brightness and great terror bred:
The subtle transl of Archiago old; For all the crest a dragon did eiold
The wanton loves of false 2 Fidessa fair, With greedy paws, and over all did spread
Bought with the blood of vanquish'd PaynimI His golden wings;14 his dreadful hideous head,
bold; Close couched on the beaver, seem'd to throw
The wretched pair transform'd to trein mould; From flaming mouth bright sparkles fiery red,
The House of Pride, and perils round Bbout; That sudden horror to faint hearts did show;
The combat which he with Sansjoy did hold; And scaly tail was stretch'd adown his back full
The luckless conflict with the giant stout, low.
Wherein captiv'd, of life or death he stood in Upon the top of allhis loft t,
doubt.
^^'~~doubt.. ~A bunch of hairs discolour'd diversely,
She heard with patience all unto the end; With sprinkled pearl and gold full richly drest,
And strove to master sorrowful assay,4 Did shake, and seem'd to dance for jollity;
Which greater grew the more she did contend, Like to an almond tree y-mounted high
And almost rent her tender heart in tway; 5 On top of green Selinis all alone,
And love fresh coals unto her fire did lay: With blossoms brave bedecked daintily;
For, greater love, the greater is the loss. Whose tender locks do tremble ev'ry one
Was never lady loved dearer day At ev'ry little breath that under heaven is blown.
Then she did love the Knight of the Redcross; His warlikeshield all cosely er'dwas
For whose dear sake so many troubles her did Normigh ofmortaleyebeeve see;
toss. Not made of steel, nor of etdurng brass
At last, when fervent sorrow slaked was, (Such earthly metals soon consumed beenl),
She up arose, resolving him to find But all of diamond perfect pure and clean
Alive or dead; and forward forth doth pass, It framed was, one massy entire mould,
All as the Dwarf the way to her assign'd: Hewn out of adamant rock with engines keen,
And evermore, in constant careful mind, That point of spear it never piercen could,
She fed her wound with fresh renewed bale: 7 Nor dint of direful sword divide the substance
Long tost with storms, and beat with bitterwind, would.
High over hills, and low adown the dale, The same to t he neer wont disclose
She wander'd many a wood, and measur'd many But when as monsters huge he would dismay,
a vale. Or daunt unequal armies of his foes,
At last she chanced by good hap to meet Or when the flying heav'ns he would affray:
A goodly knight,8 fair marching by the way, For so exceeding shone his glist'ning ray,
Together with his squire, arrayed meet: That Phoebus' golden face it did attaint,l8
His glittering armour shined far away, As when a cloud his beams doth over-lay;
Like glancing light of Phoebus' brightest ray; And silver Cynthia lo waxed pale and fainti,
From top to toe no place appeared bare, As when her face is stain'd with magio. ats'
That deadly dint of steel endanger may: constraint.
Athwart his breast a baldric 9 brave he ware, Nomagicartshereofhadanymight,
That shind, like twinkling stars, with stones Nor bloody words of bold enchanters' call;
most precious rare: But all that was not such as seem'd in sight,
And, in the midst thereof, one precious stone Before that shield did fade, and sudden fall:
Of wondrous worth, and eke of wondrous And, when him list the rascal routs20 appal,
mights,^ Men into stones therewith he could transmue,2
Shap'd like a lady's head,l exceeding shone, And stones to dust, and dust to naught at all;
Like Hesperus amongst the lesser lights, And, when him list the prouder looks subdue,
And strove for to amaze the weaker sights: He would them gazing blind, orturn tootherhue.
Thereby his mortal blade full comely hung Nor let it seem that credence this exceeds
In ivory sheath, y-carvd with curious sleights, Forhehatmadetheamewaskno ri well.F~nose hilts~ were brnish'd g6, anhandlFor he that made the same was known- right well
Whose hilts were burnish'd- gold, and hand vedonemuchmoreadmirabledeeds:
To have done much more admirable 2a deeds:
tronlg It Merlin was, which whilom did excell
Of mother pearl; and buckled with a golden All living wights'm might of magic spell:
tongue. Both shield, and sword, and armour all he
His haughty helmet, horrid 13 all with gold, wrought
1 Stratagems. of the King" (page 256), describing Arthur' parting
S The pretended. 3 Sansfoy. See Canto II. from Guinevere, tells us that she saw,
4 The trial or attack of sorrow. 5 Two. "Wet with the mists and smitten with the lights,
6 Pointed out. 7 Misery. The Dragon of the great Pendragonship
8 Prince Arthur, who was to have been the principal Blaze, making all the night a steam of fire."
hero of the poem, according to Spenser's uncompleted 15 Theancientromancers called Arthur'sShield "iddesign. wen," his sword "Caliburn" or'4Excalibak, andy his
9 Belt. 10 Virtues, powers. spear "Roan."
11 In the likeness of the Faery Queen. i s6 Are. 17 He was never wont to show to mortal.
1 Devices. 13 Rugged; studded or ornamented. 18 Obscure. 19 The Moon.
14 The golden dragon was the cognisance of the royal 20 The base crowds of his enemies.
race among the Britons. Tennyson, in the "Idylls a Transform. 22 Wonderful.